9)
I ALLOW
MY MIND TO THINK UNDISCIPLINED THOUGHTS AND BELIEVE THE WORLD’S LIES.
10)
I HAVE PULLED AWAY FROM GOD AND DO NOT HAVE A
DAILY QUIET TIME OF PRAYER AND BIBLE
GOD
SAYS: “DRAW CLOSER TO ME AND I WILL DRAW CLOSER TO YOU!”
11)
I HAVE ISOLATED MYSELF FROM PEOPLE – NOTABLY
MY CHURCH FAMILY.
12)
I HAVE
BEEN HURT IN THE PAST BY PEOPLE AND CIRCUMSTANCES AND I HAVE NEVER HEALED FROM
THE PAIN.
13)
I HAVE
EXPERIENCED LOSS IN MY LIFE WHETHER A RELATIONSHIP, JOB OR SOMETHING IMPORTANT
TO ME AND I HAVE NEVER GOTTEN OVER IT.
14)
I AM IN
DEBT FINANCIALLY AND DO NOT SEE A WAY OUT.
15)
MY TEMPERAMENT
AND PERSONALITY INFLUENCE MY CYCLES OF DEPRESSION.
16)
I AM
OVEREXTENDED AND DO NOT HAVE GOOD BOUNDARIES – I GIVE TOO MUCH OF MYSELF AWAY
WITHOUT TAKING IN GOD’S RESOURCES.
17)
I DID NOT
REACH MY GOALS AND FEEL LIKE A FAILURE.
18)
MY
IDENTITY IS IN MY PERFORMANCE INSTEAD OF BEING IN CHRIST LIKE IT SHOULD – I AM
CAUGHT IN THE “PERFORMANCE TRAP”.
19)
I DO NOT
FEEL LIKE MY LIFE HAS PURPOSE AND MEANING.
20)
I FEEL HOPELESS
BECAUSE I AM STUCK IN A DEAD END JOB, MARRIAGE ETC. AND BELIEVE THINGS WILL
NEVER GET BETTER AND IMPROVE – I AM STUCK IN A RUT.
21)
I TEND TO
FOCUS ON THE NEGATIVE MORE THAN THE POSITIVE.
22)
I AM NOT
BEING LOVED AND APPRECIATED THE WAY I WANT TO – MY NEEDS ARE NOT BEING MET.
23)
I HAVE
FOCUSED MORE ON THE OUTWARD CIRCUMSTANCES THEN I HAVE INVESTED IN MY INWARD
RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD – MY ATTITUDE NEEDS TUNING.
24)
I AM NOT GRATEFUL
AND THANKFUL FOR ALL THE GOOD STUFF I HAVE IN MY LIFE!
·
It has been said
that, "Where there is no hope in the future, there is no power in the
present".
·
If that is
true, then…What is hope?
Webster’s
Dictionary says HOPE is defined as:
"To desire with expectation of
fulfillment".
QUESTION:
What happens when our desires and expectations are not fulfilled?
·
The Bible
says in Proverbs 13:12: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire
fulfilled is a tree of life” Proverbs 13:12
·
When my hopes
do not come true……Depression and loss of hope can permeate my thoughts.
·
Has a dream
of yours been deferred?
·
Have you ever
wondered where God is – in the midst of your pain, your confusion, and
problems?
·
We all have
questioned God at some time in our lives. If we haven’t yet, we probably will.
·
Habakkuk
questioned God’s timing.
Habakkuk
1:1-4, 12-17 says:
1
The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet received.
2
How long, O LORD, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, "Violence!"
but you do not save?
3
Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and conflict abounds.
4
Therefore the law is paralyzed,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
so that justice is perverted.
12
O LORD, are you not from everlasting?
My God, my Holy One, we will not die.
O LORD, you have appointed them to execute
judgment;
O Rock, you have ordained them to punish.
13
Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;
you cannot tolerate wrong.
Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?
Why are you silent while the wicked
swallow up those more righteous than
themselves?
14
You have made men like fish in the sea,
like sea creatures that have no ruler.
15
The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks,
he catches them in his net,
he gathers them up in his dragnet;
and so he rejoices and is glad.
16
Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and burns incense to his dragnet,
for by his net he lives in luxury
and enjoys the choicest food.
17
Is he to keep on emptying his net,
destroying nations without mercy?
OBSERVATIONS
FROM HABAKKUK 1:1-4, 12-17
1) In the midst of depression, Habakkuk asked God a
question.
·
Asking
questions of God is not a sign of weak faith…just the opposite – it is a sign
of great faith that God will answer your questions.
·
The Bible
encourages Christians to ask God for wisdom.
JAMES 1:2-8 says: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers,
whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of
your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so
that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you
lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding
fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and
not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by
the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the
Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does”.
·
When we are
confused and do not have all of life’s answers, God wants us to come to Him –
asking for His wisdom, for His answers.
·
That is what
Habakkuk did. He did not understand why God was letting bad things happen to
good people.
·
Evil men were
hurting and even killing innocent victims and Habakkuk wanted answers as to why
this was happening.
2) God answered Habakkuk and spoke a promise to Him.
Habakkuk 2:2-4,6,9,12,15
Habakkuk
2:2-4,6,9,12,15 says:
2
Then the LORD replied:
"Write down the revelation
and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald [a] may run with it.
3
For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it [b] will certainly come and will not delay.
4
"See, he is puffed up;
his desires are not upright—
but the righteous will live by his faith
6
"Will not all of them taunt him with ridicule and scorn, saying,
" 'Woe to him who piles up stolen
goods
and makes himself wealthy by extortion!
How long must this go on?'
9 "Woe to him who builds his realm by unjust gain
to set his nest on high,
to escape the clutches of ruin!
12
"Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed
and establishes a town by crime!
15
"Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors,
pouring it from the wineskin till they are
drunk,
so that he can gaze on their naked bodies.
Habakkuk
2:2-4,6,9,12,15
·
We are given
no evidence in the book of Habakkuk of the external circumstances changing.
·
But after
receiving God’s promises, we see Habakkuk practice a discipline that all men
and women of faith practice….
3) Habakkuk reflects back on God’s faithfulness in
previous times of need.
Habakkuk 3:1-16 says:
1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On
shigionoth . [a]
2 LORD, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD.
Renew them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy.
3 God came from Teman,
the Holy One from
Selah [b]
His glory covered the heavens
and his praise filled the earth.
4 His splendor was like the sunrise;
rays flashed from his hand,
where his power was hidden.
5 Plague went before him;
pestilence followed his steps.
6 He stood, and shook the earth;
he looked, and made the nations tremble.
The ancient mountains crumbled
and the age-old hills collapsed.
His ways are eternal.
7 I saw the tents of Cushan in distress,
the dwellings of Midian in anguish.
8 Were you angry with the rivers, O LORD ?
Was your wrath against the streams?
Did you rage against the sea
when you rode with your horses
and your victorious chariots?
9 You uncovered your bow,
you called for many arrows.
Selah
You split the earth with rivers;
10 the mountains saw you and writhed.
Torrents of water swept by;
the deep roared
and lifted its waves on high.
11 Sun and moon stood still in the heavens
at the glint of your flying arrows,
at the lightning of your flashing spear.
12 In wrath you strode through the earth
and in anger you threshed the nations.
13 You came out to deliver your people,
to save your anointed one.
You crushed the leader of the land of
wickedness,
you stripped him from head to foot.
Selah
14 With his own spear you pierced his head
when his warriors stormed out to scatter
us,
gloating as though about to devour
the wretched who were in hiding.
15 You trampled the sea with your horses,
churning the great waters.
16 I heard and my heart pounded,
my lips quivered at the sound;
decay crept into my bones,
and my legs trembled.
Yet I will wait patiently for the day of
calamity
to come on the nation invading us.
Habakkuk 3:1-16
·
Other Bible
characters like King David and Abraham followed the same pattern of Habakkuk.
·
They start
off questioning God and wondering why He apparently abandoned them.
·
This
questioning period can go on for some time.
·
But then like
all the men and women of great faith in the Bible – the questioning eventually
stops and reflection begins.
·
They finally
chose to reflect on God’s faithfulness to His people in years gone by.
·
They remember
how God protected and cared for the people of previous generations.
·
When they
reflect back on God’s loving nature – hope is restored
and the future which once looked bleak now looks promising because God will
show up and take care of the problem.
·
We see such a
pattern in Psalm 77:
Very similar to Habakkuk, the writer of Psalm 77
writes:
“I
cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me. When I was in
distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands and my
soul refused to be comforted. I remembered you, O God, and I groaned; I
mused, and my spirit grew faint. You kept my eyes from closing; I was too
troubled to speak. I thought about the former days, the years of
long ago; I remembered my songs in the night. My heart mused and my
spirit inquired: "Will the Lord reject forever?
Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love; vanished
forever? Has his promise failed for all
time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger
withheld his compassion?" Then I thought, "To this I will
appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High." I
will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long
ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty
deeds. Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as
our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display
your power among the peoples. With your mighty arm you redeemed your
people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. The waters saw you, O God,
the waters saw you and writhed; the very depths were convulsed. The
clouds poured down water, the skies resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed
back and forth. Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning
lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. Your path led through
the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not
seen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Psalm 77
·
The Psalmist
complains for the first 9 verses.
·
Like the
Psalmist, remembering God’s faithfulness to his children, gave Habakkuk hope
and thereby changed how he saw his circumstances.
Hope always changes how we see our environment.
·
Without hope
we feel that we are going to die! With hope all is well and life is
enjoyable!
Habakkuk
writes in
“I heard and my
heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my
legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to
come on the nation invading us. Though the fig tree does not bud and
there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the
fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in
the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my
Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet
of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.”
Why did Habakkuk’s attitude change?
·
He remembered
the God of the Bible who is always faithful to His children.
·
He reasoned
that what God did for them many years ago, He is going to do again.
·
He therefore
had a promise from God to hold on to!
·
He remembered
that God calls things that are not as if though they were and he chose to do
the same!
When
I find myself distraught over the external circumstances I need to:
V
Express my
pain to God.
V
Read my Bible
daily to remember God’s goodness to His children throughout previous
generations.
V
Trust God’s
promises to me as stated in the Bible more than my irrational thoughts and
emotions.
·
Listening to
God’s truth rather than to our emotions keeps us sane and level headed.
·
Reflecting
and meditating on God’s Word keeps me from irrational thinking which can lead
to irrational behaving.
·
Jesus says
that the Word of God is my foundation that holds me steady.
Matthew 7:24-27 says:
"Therefore
everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a
wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose,
and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it
had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of
mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his
house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and
beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." Matthew
7:24-27
4. Thank God and declare victory over the circumstances even when everything appears to be the same. Habakkuk 3:17-19